In the shadows, my darkest years unfold,
A journey through depths that chill the soul,
Fell into blackness, a gaping hole,
Where time stretched thin, and hope seemed old.

Each night they came, with whispers of dread,
Figures unseen, in silence they tread,
Nightmares crafted, on fear they fed,
A symphony of terror, where courage fled.

Abducted from dreams, I wandered alone,
Gripped by a silence, a heart made of stone,
Their eyes were vacant, cold as the night,
Different yet sameness, a terrible sight.

Evil in mind, with intentions unclear,
Heartbreak a shadow, my constant seer,
Mental illness thrived in that endless night,
Breaking me slowly, robbing my light.

Piece by piece, they shattered my core,
Yet in the abyss, I learned to implore,
Could there be freedom beyond the despair?
A flicker of courage, a glimmer of air.

Then one day, as dawn brushed the skyscape,
They vanished like whispers, no hint nor shape,
Left me in silence, a witness to strife,
A victor of shadows, reclaiming my life.

Now I stand firm, with scars that I bear,
Not a victim of fate, but a soul laid bare,
Yet echoes remain, in the corners they creep,
As some other child lays burdened by sleep.